A is for Apatosaurus
by FlashOfInspiration
Summary: Deleted scene kind of format. I wanted to see more of the relationship between Owen and Claire growing...so I wrote it.


NOTE: All characters belong to the Jurassic World creators. I am mostly keeping in line with the original story. I wanted to develop Owen and Claire's characters and relationship further. This is just a scene that takes place in between Claire and Owen seeing the Apatosauruses, and finding the "bubble". I also took liberties with giving Owen more of a past since all that was said in the movie was that he was in the Navy.

"This is what happens when you don't treat them like living, breathing animals." He had been telling them that from the beginning, but did they ever listen? No, because who was he? An ex-Navy man. A former dog trainer. He had a degree in psychology, a minor in anthropology, and he had taken a few biology and palaeontology classes. All before joining the Navy. He still didn't know why he had been recruited by Jurassic World, but the point was that _they_ had sought _him_ out. Meaning they wanted his expertise. But did they listen to him? Even when he got results? No. His only concern was supposed to be the raptors, and it had been….Until Claire had asked him to look over the paddock of the latest "asset". Then he damn well wished he'd taken an interest in other animals in the park. Did these people not realize the harm they were doing by simply treating the dinosaurs like assets? Many dinosaurs were pack animals, and even those that were not still learned their behaviours from other dinosaurs of the same species. Raising the Indominus rex essentially in total isolation was one of the stupidest things Owen had ever heard—and he had heard and seen a lot in his day.

Of course there were other trainers like him at the park: people who cared about their charges and treated them as sentient beings. It wasn't all bad. And Owen liked his work. But he sure as hell did not like tramping through what would normally be a lovely part of the island, with the exception of it being marred by the huge fucking killing machine on the loose, while trying to find the nephews of one Ms. Claire Dearing.

His mental diatribe was of course interrupted by the same woman.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Grady, what was that?" Her tone suggested that she had heard at least some of what he had said, and was pretty much daring him to repeat it. Well he was never one to back away from a dare.

"I said, _Claire_ , that this is what happens when you don't treat the dinosaurs like living, breathing animals," he said.

"I assure you, _Owen_ , that I am very aware of the dinosaurs' liveliness," Claire replied, sounding slightly out of breath.

It served her right for wearing such ridiculous shoes out into the wilderness of the park. Plus, Owen's strides were larger than hers, and he was walking quickly. He was both angry, and worried. He had seen people die today, and now to see the carnage left in the wake of the Indominus rex—it was killing other dinosaurs for fun, dammit, fun!—it made his blood boil. Plus, two kids were out there somewhere. None of which made him inclined to be understanding or patient at the moment.

"Fine, then let me rephrase," he said, without looking back, "This is what happens when you don't treat them like sentient, intelligent beings. This is what happens when you mess with nature, when you decide to play God and create new species in a lab without thinking how it might affect the real world."

"Excuse me, Mr. Grady, but you have a job because someone 'messed with nature.' In case you forgot, dinosaurs were extinct. Then science brought them back. And now, we have a multi billion dollar industry, and you have a nice fat paycheque. And get to play with dinosaurs. Isn't that every little boy's dream?" She was being deliberately antagonistic with that last comment, and she knew it. But she was tired of Owen Grady's holier-than-thou attitude and his know-it-all persona. He had no idea the effort and organization it took to run this place. It was up to her to make sure things ran smoothly at Jurassic World, so forgive her if she did not take a personal interest in how each and every dinosaur was raised.

Owen stopped, and whirled around, startling Claire. He enjoyed seeing the look of surprise on her face, but the enjoyment was fleeting. " _That_ was not my dream, Claire," he said, gesturing back in the direction they had just come. The Apatosaurus was not the smartest of dinosaurs, but it was a gentle giant. And the renegade Indominus rex had killed not one, but several of the other dinosaurs for no reason Owen could see other than sport. That was not natural and it only furthered Owen's suspicions that there was something not quite right about this dinosaur besides its psychological state. How had it managed to fool the thermal sensors? And where had it got the idea to distract them with the claw marks on the wall? Too many questions, not enough answers, and here Claire was suggesting that this was what he had always wanted.

Claire was startled by the vehemence of Owen's reaction. She looked back, still able to see the bodies lying across the fields of the park. It was eerie. These fields were usually filled with dinosaurs, but they had all scattered. Only the dead and dying Apatosauruses were left. Her throat still felt tight just thinking about the one that she and Owen had comforted as it died. The field littered with bodies reminded her again that the Indominus rex was on the loose, and her nephews were out there with it. She had to find them, and to do that, she needed Owen's help. She hated to admit it, but she did. Despite their differences, Claire strangely felt that she could trust Owen Grady. After all, he had not even hesitated when she asked him to help her find her nephews. And he was probably scared too. They had both seen people die today. Most sane people were running for cover at this point and here the two of them were, pretty much running headlong into the danger.

"I-I'm sorry, Owen," she said, feeling contrite. "Clearly we never wanted this to happen."

Owen rolled his eyes and turned around, continuing his walk back to the vehicle. "We knew it was bound to, Claire," he said gruffly, hoisting the strap of his gun up on his shoulder. "It's why your people developed all those contingency measures. It's why you implanted the dinosaurs with tracking devices. It's why you have whole teams of men and women ready to take on these beasts."

"Well normally it would be fine," Claire insisted, struggling a bit to keep up. Her high heels annoyingly kept sinking into the grass, and her formerly pristine white outfit was streaked with dirt. She would never admit to Owen that she was having troubles though. She was a woman who had a hard time admitting when she was wrong. She wouldn't do it about her clothes, and she wasn't quite ready to do it in relation to the park's current problems. "It's only because—" she stopped because Owen had stopped again, and had turned back towards her.

"Because that dinosaur is not just one dinosaur. It's a hybrid. And _that_ _'_ _s_ the problem," he said, satisfaction evident in his tone. She had been about to admit that perhaps the scientists had made a mistake.

Claire crossed her arms over her chest defensively. Her lips pursed and in that moment, Owen could see how much she was struggling with admitting he was right. He couldn't help the grin that spread over his face in that moment.

"Don't worry Claire. You agreeing with me will be our little secret," he said, putting a finger to his lips and winking at her. Before she could respond, he opened the door to the vehicle and swung himself inside. But he still caught the reluctant smile on Claire's face before she too climbed into the car.


End file.
